Samsung raises game with major S4 marketing campaign

Samsung is backing the launch of the Galaxy S4 with its biggest ever smartphone marketing campaign.

The news follows reports last week that Samsung was struggling to overcome supply problems affecting the launch of the Galaxy S4.

The campaign, which uses the strapline ‘Life Companion’, includes TV, print, PR, retail, social media, out-of-home, digital and experiential.

The campaign debuted in the UK this week. The manufacturer will be hoping it plays a pivotal role in helping to exceed sales of its previous flagship device, the Galaxy SIII, which has sold more than 50 million since it went on sale last year.

The camapign will run for seven weeks and include primetime spots on TV and video-on-demand during ITV1’s Champions League coverage and Britain's Got Talent, as well as cinema spots targeting films including Star Trek Into Darkness, The Great Gatsby and Man of Steel.

In a statement Samsung said the campaign ‘brings to life the unique features available with the Galaxy S4, which are loosely based around Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to demonstrate how it can offer people a better quality of life.’

The first of two ads follows a young man's journey around the world through the photos he takes on his Galaxy S4, which he adds audio by using Sound and Shot and sends to his mother as talking postcards. The second ad introduces Group Play and aims to demonstrate how the Galaxy S4 can help people build relationships and communicate with one another in the same way a basketball team communicates before playing an important match.

The manufacturer is also displaying static ads across 21 major banner sites in the UK, including Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, the BFI London IMAX, Cromwell Road, Westfield and Heathrow Terminal 5.

Simon Stanford, Vice President of IM Division, UK & Ireland, said: ‘The Galaxy S III was the UK’s number one handset for 10 consecutive months and became Samsung’s fastest and biggest selling smartphone to date. Therefore there has been a huge amount of buzz around its successor, the Galaxy S4, so we wanted to create a campaign that reflected this.’

Stanford said: ‘With features such as Sound and Shot and Group Play enabling meaningful moments and a feeling of togetherness amongst people, we believe we have created a campaign that embodies the human nature of the Galaxy S4. We are confident that this campaign will pick up where the Galaxy S III activity left off, in improving our corporate brand scores and creating a fantastic experience for our customers.’